As the official cycling club at the University of East Anglia, we aim to cater for all abilities and all disciplines of the sport from road and time trialing to mountainbiking and cyclocross. Now, we know that not everyone who enjoys riding their bike is that worked up about racing and for many people, cycling is just about enjoying the chance to be free in the outdoors, therefore we also look to run as many 'social' rides as possible.
Interested in joining us on our next ride? If you're a club member and have your SAM insurance - check the calendar below for our latest weekly timetable!
What do the rides mean?
Race training - This is one for the quick riders. When you see a chain gang ride organised, be prepared for a good, old fashioned tear up at high speeds. This will involve riding in a through and off manner in order to keep the average speed of the ride as high as possible. These are less likely to feature in the Autumn semester - but, as the race season approaches through the spring, these will become a regular part of the UEA timetable.
Social Ride/Club Run - Typically, these are almost the same thing with the only variation being the number of groups going out on the road. With a social ride, we try to have one group going out on the road and the ride will always be to the speed of the slowest rider and will be a no drop ride. Whilst with a club run, it's common to see a couple of groups heading out on the road, all with a different average speed in mind - allowing for those who want to take it easy to do so and those who want to ramp it up a little, also being able to do so.
MTB/Cyclocross - Where as the majority of Norfolk is not ideal for mountain biking, we are extremtly lucky at UEA in a sense that we have some great single track available all round the campus and into Cringleford Woods. Typically these rides are shorter than your average road ride, but nevertheless are just as enjoyable and challenging... One word of warning if you're heading out on one of these rides - be prepared to get muddy!!
Turbos - Yes, it's everyones favourite part of cycling... You know, where you ride indoors and sweat it out for a couple of hours?! At UEA CC we offer a weekly chance to use the clubs turbo trainers and train in the warm (seriously, it's very warm!!) away from the cold, winter weather. We also look to use the turbo sessions to help with bike fitting issues for any of our members.
Circuits - We also work closely with UEA Triathlon club and now host a circuit session run between the two clubs. This will allow you to vary up your training and give you the opportunity to work on those muscles that might otherwise be neglected by simply riding every day.
Further to actually riding, we aim to increase interest and involvement in cycling among UEA students through a range of socials throughout the year and of course, we will also be a regular fixture on the start list at BUCS and local competitions.